Winds speeds will decrease overnight and we will see a northerly wind on Monday morning, turning more northeasterly around midday as high pressure aloft builds to our north. Upslope winds due to heating as the as the boundary layer deepens will also influence a more northeasterly flow.

On Tuesday the winds will turn northwesterly with speeds ranging from about 2-6 m/s. Winds will turn more westerly and hit peak speeds in the afternoon as a strong low builds in directly to our north in Canada. 

Wind speeds will pick up again on Wednesday and Thursday as the pressure gradient increases. Because the pressure gradient is so large, it will most likely dominate the wind flow in the area and will be more northerly with a chance of an easterly component. Chance of precipitation on Wednesday night. On Friday the wind speeds will decrease again and northerly flow will continue and turn more westerly on Saturday.

A strong closed low aloft in the northeast will cause more northerly flow today, however heating this afternoon may shift the winds more easterly due to upslope. Northwesterly flow much of the weekend as high pressure moves into the area, turning more northerly by Monday. Dry air aloft will move back into the area early next week. Surface forecasts for early next week show high pressure lingering over central Colorado which should result in northwesterly flow on Tuesday turning more westerly on Wednesday as a cold front builds to our north. Because of the fronts passing to our north on Wednesday and Thursday, I suspect winds to pick up, but I will be able to better forecast wind speeds for next week by Sunday.

Chance for rain today with increasing chance of thunderstorms late this afternoon.  Flow will continue to be northerly and light today. Rain will clear out by Friday. Winds will become more westerly on Friday and speeds around hub height will continue to average around 2 m/s.  On Saturday the winds will increase slightly and will have a southerly component.  On Sunday the NAM is showing a southwesterly wind component with wind speeds around hub height increasing up to about 8m/ in the morning until about midday.  On Monday high pressure dominates aloft and dry air will move back into the area. Winds will be weak and be more northerly until Tuesday when they will become more northwesterly.  The northwesterly flow should continue into Wednesday.

Chance of light showers today and through tonight. Will clear up tomorrow morning but there is another chance for some light rain tomorrow afternoon.  Note: we should watch this when out in the field tomorrow. Northwesterly flow will dominate much of today turning more westerly and calm tomorrow.  On Wednesday night into Thursday, the winds will become more southeasterly due to pressure channeling as high pressure aloft moves to our east. Northwesterly flow will come back on Friday, but the winds will turn more northerly over the weekend. There is a chance for afternoon thunderstorms the rest of the week and into the weekend. 

Pocket of moisture moving through the U.S. from the Pacific will stick around for much of the week bringing the chance of precipitation. The rain will seem to clear out early Wednesday morning, but will most likely come back mid-afternoon. Thursday will be clear, and a chance of rain again on Friday.

West and northwest flow for today and most likely for the rest of the week as a surface high hovers right over us until the end of the week. This high seems to be trying to dissipate the pocket of moisture as it comes right towards the area, but the air aloft will still pick up some of the moisture, giving us the chance for light rain in the morning and thunderstorms in the afternoon and overnight.

Northerly flow today and through most of the weekend.  This will become more northwesterly Sunday night into Monday.  Chance of showers late Monday into Tuesday and late Tuesday into Wednesday as moisture moves into the area.  There will be westerly flow most of Tuesday becoming more northwesterly by Wednesday. Wednesday night into Thursday the winds will become more easterly as the moisture and low pressure move to our southeast. 

Northerly flow aloft on Friday becoming more northwesterly on Saturday morning as the closed low in Canada continues to slowly move east. Winds will become more easterly on Sunday morning due to a surface low to our northwest.  Monday, Tuesday and into Wednesday, there will be a more northwesterly flow. 

Skew-t from Denver this morning shows west-northwesterly flow and fairly dry air aloft. Northwesterly flow aloft as the trough moving towards the northeast continues to deepen. A closed low near the Canadian border will circulate most of today, Thursday and Friday slowly moving east. This may bring some southwesterly flow becoming more northwesterly as the low moves east and strong high pressure moves in behind it on Saturday and into Sunday.  Next week is looking like it will provide us will some westerly flow aloft and a possibility of some showers Monday night into Tuesday as moisture moves into the area. There is a small disturbance early Wednesday morning which may cause some showers and northeasterly flow. 

Northwesterly flow Wednesday into early Thursday. Synoptics at the surface suggest a more northeasterly flow Thursday afternoon into Friday. Northerly flow on Friday. Wind speeds should increase slightly on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon but other than that they should stay slightly above cut-in speed.

Schedule of activities for this week

Thanks everyone for your hard work today! We are getting closer to lift off.

Tuesday afternoon, Clara, Mike, and Ludovic will finish inflating both blimps, starting ~ 1:30pm.

Thursday afternoon, 12:30pm, we will meet Mike S. and J.vD. to walk through the process of removing the blimps from their house, walking them out to the winches, attaching the payloads, and making a short (low-level) flight. Depending on how things go, we will then identify other areas for practice or we will schedule the Readiness Verification test for early next week. Fingers crossed for good weather!

Please let me know if you have questions or concerns.

Northeasterly flow for much of today due to surface low pressure to our southeast. A trough aloft (rhymes haha) will pass through the area around midday today, bringing a northwesterly flow tonight into tomorrow, which will become west-northwesterly Tuesday morning as the trough deepens and continues to move further east. There is some uncertainty as to whether this west-northwesterly flow will continue onto Wednesday and Thursday as a cold front will move through around mid-day on Wednesday and some low pressure may be moving into the area shortly after, but I will keep a close watch on this. Wind speeds will most likely hover around cut-in speed or slightly above. 

High pressure at the surface and aloft. Air aloft remains fairly dry which is especially apparent in the skew-T from Denver this morning.  By Saturday morning, a surface high will be to our southeast which should bring southwesterly flow.  It looks like a very weak cold front will come down from the north directly to our east Saturday around midday which will maintain the southwesterly flow.  A stronger cold front associated with a low in Canada will pass through late Sunday or early Monday.  Once this cold front passes there will be a chance for northwesterly flow, but the 12Z runs of the NAM and GFS show a surface high to our north and a surface low to our south which suggests northeasterly flow. The low pressure will move out on Tuesday and flow will be northwesterly as a trough deepens through the upper Midwest.  This will continue through most of Tuesday, and by Tuesday night the deepened trough will have moved more towards the northeast, giving us the chance for west-northwesterly flow. Slight chance for scattered showers late Monday into Tuesday.

Winds will continue to come from the south today, with either a west or east component depending on the location of the surface high to our east. On Friday the winds will be southwesterly and this will continue through Sunday. Sunday night a weak cold front in the trough of a surface low will pass but there will be no precipitation as the air aloft will be dry. On Monday, winds will shift to northwesterly due to the trough deepening and moving to our east.

Southeasterly flow to continue through today as well as precipitation. Precipitation will move out by tonight. Winds will turn more southerly with a westerly component early Thursday morning and throughout most of the day. On Friday, winds will continue to be southwesterly as there will be a surface high to our southeast. Winds will continue to be southwest shifting more westerly through Saturday and speeds will increase late Friday and most of the day on Saturday. 

Southerly flow with an easterly component because of a surface low directly to our east to continue today with precipitation starting later today into Wednesday. Once the cold front passes through the area sometime overnight tonight, flow will become northwesterly with continued rain showers as the air aloft will be moist.  Northwesterly flow to continue into Thursday.

Flow aloft today will be westerly with an occasional southerly component that will continue through Wednesday. Chance of precipitation during early afternoon on Tuesday that will continue through Wednesday night. The air aloft will continue to be fairly moist on Thursday and high pressure to our north will most likely result in northwesterly flow. Stay tuned.

No west-northwesterly winds forecasted for the next 2-4 days.

Chance of showers today as moisture behind the cold front moves into the area. Winds looking to be northwesterly (though surface winds may vary) as the trough that passed over us last night deepens to our east and high pressure moves in. Easterly winds on Saturday due to an approaching ridge. The ridge will pass through early Sunday morning with southwesterly winds.  Monday and Tuesday of next week will bring southwesterly flow as another trough builds to our northwest.

North and northwesterly winds to continue through most of the day today.  A cold front along with northwest winds will move through early Friday morning with some moisture behind it which will bring a slight chance for some scattered showers around mid-day and through the night. Expect northwest winds to continue through Sunday as high pressure moves into the area.

Surface low pressure to our south will result in south-easterly flow today. Zonal flow is weaker today as a surface low in Canada develops and the troughs deepen, however, zonal flow looking to continue through Thursday night which will result in westerly flow aloft. A cold front, now looking stronger than before, will pass through the area on Friday morning, bringing northwesterly winds with it. Though there is still little chance of precipitation Friday morning due to the dry air mass, some moist air will move in behind the cold front bringing a chance for showers Friday night into Saturday morning.  Northwesterly winds will continue on Saturday.

Note* like Julie stated in her comment yesterday, there is testing going on at the site this week that will take precedence. 

Westerly flow aloft due to fairly zonal flow until Friday afternoon. This will result in westerly winds today shifting to northwesterly winds this afternoon. A weak cold front will pass through to our north tonight, though this most likely will not result in any precipitation as it will be dry.  Westerly flow will dominate at least through Friday morning because of zonal flow with occasional west-northwesterly flow on Thursday around mid-day due to a shortwave or small trough that will move through the area.  Also note that this shortwave will most likely not cause precipitation as it is still fairly dry aloft.